Emerson Commander.....opinions??

KBR

KBR

Joined
Feb 12, 2002
Messages
1,525
I'm planning on picking up one of these today, and because I can't do a search cause I'm a cheap bastid, I'd like some reviews from those of you out there that have one.

Pros, cons, like it, don't like it....please post your opinion. I've heard and read mixed reviews about it, mainly because of thinner titanium liners and the black coating on the blade not being very durable.

COMMANDER-BTS.jpg
 
Had one for a year or two now. It has a thick blade with a pretty severe edge, therefore, it's not as sharp as others out there. However, it wasn't designed to be a shaving knife (although you can get it to pop the hairs off if you try :)). It was designed to be a hard-use knife designed for toughness and durability. It does a good job at that. It's a tough SOB. The pivot mechanism is designed with a flat head screw holding the thing together so you can quickly adjust the tension on the blade and quickly field strip it to clean. However, it doesn't do all that good of a job of securely holding the blade when closed. Mine tends to rattle when closed unless you really crank down on the pivot screw, which makes it more difficult to open.

Bottom line: Great hard use knife meant for the field. A variation of it was in service with some paramilitary groups at one point. The open-on-withdraw feature works well with practice, and it deffinately is a fast deploying knife. The ergonomics of the handle also fit my hand very well. It feels good to hold and use. But don't expect it to be a gentlemen's knife.

--nathan
 
Simply put, the Commander is one of the best production tactical folders out there now. It's very well made, great ergonomics, and a work horse of a blade shape. The Emerson Wave opening feature, once you get it down pat, makes the blade pop out instantaneously...and definitely adds to the knife's cool factor.

The Commander's been out for a few years now, but I feel the 2002 models are the best ones EKI has put out due to minor changes in the lock bar, handle shape, and blade shape. Little things do mean a lot. Though, the '98 model Commanders are highly sought after due to their handle and liner thickness.

Get a Commander. You won't be disappointed.
 
I received a Commander in a trade and I love it. The blade wasn't centered, but it was an easy fix by bending the second detent out a little bit. It is THE most comfortable knife I've ever held; the thing just seems to fit into my hand perfectly. Also, it's comfortable in a regular grip and reverse grip. I don't know how well the blade cuts various objects because it's my dedicated self defense knife and I have others for everyday use. It does, however, slice paper very well. The lockup is solid, no horizontal or vertical play. The wave feature is, of course, really neat, but it does wreak havoc on your pockets. The knife isn't too heavy either. My only complaint is that the pivot screw backs out from time to time after using the wave feature to open the knife. I put some loctite in there, but it still does it. Other than that, a very well made knife.
 
I have owned several of the production versions of the EKI line. The first of the several being the Commander. I have to disagree with the above comments as I found them in my knife.(commander model)
I had the wave feature which I didn't care for one bit. Kind of runied my pants when deploying the knife and if you didn't do the deployment aspect with authority the blade wouldn't lock like it should. Now this can be a good thing or a bad thing depending. In a s.d. situation obviously it is a good thing with the wave as it is very fast into action. However how often do we use our cutting tools for this effort. Not very. This being said it was very difficult I found to the deploy the knife in every day use without using the wave, but it had to be done forcefully when doing so to make it reliable. Not everyone wants to see a knife come out this hard and fast when just cutting a piece of whatever. I know I didn't. I always thought the backward action of the hand moving back a bit and then down a bit to be a bit disconcerting at best. You know in every day use making sure your back was clear to deploy.

Second I really dislike chisel ground blades, especially being right handed with the primary grind on the left side of the blade. The knife edge for me was a bear to sharpen and get close to hair shaving sharp. Remember a sharp knife is a safe knife to the user. When I rec. the knife it wouldn't cut butter either. Same with the CQC7 I had. Although I liked the 7 much more than the Commander. I tried every concevable way to get the Comm. up to my standards of sharpness. Just couldn't do it. I have heard tell on the forums that the knife doesn't have to be sharp to make it work. This is because of the recurved edge etc.etc. Don't believe it. I tried this knife out on a carhart jacket stuffed with printed media of the cheapest kind. Local newwpaper. Anyways I just couldn't get the damn thing to cut at all like I thought it should. It just seemed to take an inordinate amount of pressure to make cuts etc. Forget the penetration qualities of the blade. I compared if I remember correctly to a zytel model of the Outdoor Edge Magna and a CRKT. The former two outperformed it by a wide margin for this type of testing. They also worked much much easier at what I was trying to do. That is cut the jacket and penetrate the jacket.

The fit and finish left a lot to be desired with the knife as on most of the EK's I owned. With exception to the 7. The liners were rough around the edges, lots of tool marks, the blade didn't center properly and had to be addressed, and the blade was loose when adjusting the pivot to where I thought it should be in regards to tension, but when adjusting for tension it hit the liners and was off center. These problems I fixed myself so they were fixable. It did have nice hand ergonomics though and the appearance of the knife was definetly of the tactical type of knife. This style of knife not being of the everyday working knife around sheeple people. Alot of my comments may still be in the EK forums if you search. Especially the test thing I did. I am an average person so the test isn't anything scientific. Just wanted to see if my limited skills could make the knife work. It did to a certain extent but the other 2 were way easier to use in this regards. In a life and death struggle where fine motor skills go out the window pretty fast and your gross motor skills aren't that great either simpler and easier is better. I guess it did prove one thing, that is why I have a ccw and have had one for the past 26yrs or so.

Anyways hope all this helps with the pro's and cons from the other forumites. Maybe you will have a totally different take on the knife than I did. For me if it isn't easy to sharpen and use it ain't worth having. This being said I feel the BEST prduction folder made today is the SERE 2K. Put some heat shrink around the thumb studs and you are good to go with it. Custom quality all the way. Keep'em sharp
 
I have that pictured version. Had mine for just over a month now and I can't complain about it. I dislike the chisel grinds though so I changed mine about a week ago. Just got someone to grind the other side for me. I'm much happier with it now and I can cut in straight lines!!

One thing characteristic of EKI folders though is the 'stickiness' of the liner lock. Ernie tends to leave the end of the liner a little rough for a 'harder' stronger lock-up. Also the liner seems to prematurely move over to the right of the tang. This is also normal for EKI. All my Emersons have done this and all the liners on mine have stayed in the same position since the first month that I got them.

The wave does tend to ruin your pants and with some pants I find it's a hit or miss but as of right now this is my favourite knife and I do recommend it and give it full credit!
 
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